A Wizard of Earthsea
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guinby Ursula K. Le Guin
Shares rank 11 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
Recommended for its well-crafted story and writing, and for teaching readers something about themselves.
Recommended for its well-crafted story and writing, and for teaching readers something about themselves.
7 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well crafted story and writing
“the story and the writing itself are both so well crafted”
Comment from 2 Aug 2026 in “Ursula K. Le Guin: A Rant About "Technology" (2005)” “Ursula LeGuin is amazing, "A Wizard of Earthsea"”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: What's your favorite children's books?” Personal, enjoyable reading experience
“it's less about a "message" and more about learning something about yourself.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin” “Earthsea remains one of my pleasures.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “Curating a Show on My Ineffable Mother, Ursula K. Le Guin”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| A Wizard of Earthseaby Ursula K. Le GuinThis page | 6 | 1 | 86% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Ursula LeGuin is amazing, "A Wizard of Earthsea"”
“neatly resolved by Ursula K. LeGuin in A Wizard of Earthsea”
“the story and the writing itself are both so well crafted”
“it's less about a "message" and more about learning something about yourself.”
“Earthsea remains one of my pleasures.”
“flopped in part because Miyazaki made it much more about heroes versus villains than the original story”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.